Games
by DarkERB
Summary: Shiro hated games...


**A/N: Hi! This is my first fanfiction ever written** _ **(second if you include my failed deleted project from years ago).**_ **Cut me some slack, guys. Reviews are appreciated, flames are not. Anyway, my disclaimer: I do not own NGNL, and this fanfiction is part of the hype train for NGNL Zero. With that, let the story begin…**

* * *

Shiro hated games.

She certainly thought the concept was interesting. Play a game, follow a set of rules, and a victor is decided. _It was most certainly a fun thing to do_ , she thought _. Surely, this will put me out of my boredom with human life._ Being a test subject in the lab wasn't enjoyable in the slightest. With nothing to do but complete tests done by scientists, she probably would have been driven mad by boredom. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), the scientists thought teaching her how to play games would be a good idea. They got knowledge, and she got entertainment.

Shiro was taught the rules of chess first. It barely took her five minutes for her to completely dominate the scientist who taught her.

The scientist smiled at her, saying, "This proves just how much of a genius you are!" However, Shiro could see right through his façade. He was clearly upset, at least to her eyes, about losing a game he had probably been playing most his life. That was when she started to question, are games good to play? There surely will be either a winner or a loser, with resentment ending up being collected with the latter party. A draw doesn't settle anything, except further displeasure on the losing end of the next game.

Nevertheless, she gladly learnt the rules. No matter it be _shogi_ , Go, reversi or _shiritori_ , it would at least sate her boredom. However, the vicious cycle continues. Whoever taught her the games would end up on the losing side, she would see the frustration building under their skin and eventually, they all stopped playing with her, and she ended up playing the games with herself. After a while, nobody came to teach her any new games.

Shiro soon started to think that perhaps what she was doing was pointless. Is there a point playing games by herself? She knows all her future moves, thus no psychological warfare existed. The victor was always herself, obviously, and there is no satisfaction in beating yourself. Certainly, it will dull her mind if this went on. She concluded that the only purpose of doing so was to amuse herself, and even she was getting tired of it.

Shiro did not like games.

* * *

The door of her room creaked open. At that time, she was playing chess with herself, about to beat herself again. Upon hearing the noise, Shiro looked up with glazed eyes. Perhaps another scientist was going to provide her with more games. She certainly hoped so. The monotony of her situation was about to reach its peak.

Unfortunately, it was her mother. She came in, for the first time in two years, giving her the same half-nervous smile she did when she left her at the labs. Shiro did not anticipate her visit, and was rather curious what she was going to do. She did not trust her mother at all, not after what she did, leaving her in constant tedium for two years. However, she was not alone. Two other figures were at the doorway. One was a tall man with a muscular frame. He was rather handsome, she thought, and seemed to be rather attached to her mother. The other was a young boy, barely 11. He had a constant smile on his face, and was always nodding to whatever the adults said.

Her mother approached her. "This is Sora," she said, "He will be your brother from today onwards." The boy, Sora, nodded again, giving her that plastered smile of his that was very obviously fake. "I hope you can get along with him." The boy smiled at her briefly. His gaze went back to her mother and the man who was most likely his father.

Shiro looked at him. She could clearly see his fake mannerisms, trying to make both his father and her mother happy. For what purpose, she did not know. It was most likely what was expected of him, she deduced. From that, and his lack of true enthusiasm, she felt empathy towards him. She uttered the first words she had in over two years: " _Really…how empty…_ "

Shock flashed briefly on his face, then his eyes lit up. The boy dragged a chair towards her, in front of her chess board. She was a bit startled at his shining face when he said, "Let's play a game!" He rearranged the board, and started his first move. Shiro was very surprised. Whether due to his sudden enthusiasm, or her being bored of being her only challenger, she did not know, but she started to play anyway. It barely took 30 moves for her to defeat him, but his eyes didn't lose their determination.

"Again!", he practically demanded. She raised her eyebrows, but relented anyways. However, this time, his play was quite a bit more random than before, and much more unpredictable. Nevertheless, Shiro managed to defeat him quite soundly still. However, he wasn't a bit fazed, and continued to challenge her. His complete unpredictability was very, very confusing to her. He hardly ever played the best move, and constantly put her in quite a think. This…new strange playing style that she had never seen before, based off of psychology, allowed the boy to catch up with her. In the end after 20 games, the score was 10-10. Yet, even after losing 10 times, she felt a new sensation in her chest. She wanted to play more with this strange boy.

The boy smiled at her widely. "Since I beat you 10 times, can I ask for something? Please accept me as your brother. A useless brother, perhaps. Not nearly as smart as you. But a brother nonetheless." Shiro gave a small smile back and nodded in acknowledgement. The boy…no…Nii gave her a most brilliant smile.

Shiro no longer hated games.

* * *

Shiro loved games.

When she and Nii arrived in Disboard, they were pretty much in ecstasy. A world where everything was decided by games? Sign them up. She and Nii, Blank, never lost a game to anyone else.

Meeting Stephanie Dola and conquering the Imanitian kingdom was just step one of their journey. Yet, their purpose was not to conquer the world, no. It was to challenge the god of games himself, Tet, the one who brought them there again. It was the most challenging battle of their lives, but they managed to beat him in chess.

Tet himself had told them the only way to earn the right to challenge him again, was to collect all the Race Pieces. Thus, they began their plan to slowly gain every single Race Piece. Jibril, the werebeasts, every single race was only a stepping stone for their journey. Shiro didn't care, so long as she was able to play games with Nii forever and ever.

Nii was the light of her life. He was the only reason she was still able to go on in life. Whether it was bullying from others her age or enemies with magical powers, he would always protect her. Together, they will live their life to the fullest, playing games and just in general having a great time together.

Shiro looked at the chessboard in front of them. They had already secured twelve of the sixteen race pieces. Everyone under their rule was coexisting at least somewhat peacefully, with Imanity becoming a national superpower able to rival the other four races left. Nii already had a plan to secure the last four race pieces in one fell swoop. All they needed to do was wait a little longer, and the Dragonia, Elementals, Gigant and Dwarves would be in their grasp.

Shiro wasn't sure what would happen once they beat Tet. She didn't know what their goal would be next, or if she and Nii would be satisfied merely taking over Disboard. Honestly, she would already be satisfied if she could live with Nii forever. Call her a bro-con if you like, but she could never imagine a world without Nii. The time she played that Reversi game without him still runs shivers down her spine.

Still, Nii was relying on her. She needed to get her act together. She knew that her knowledge and superhuman intelligence was necessary in order to accomplish their current objective. Only she in the kingdom had the ability and intelligence to decode the Elementals' language. Not even the Old Deus could understand it. She had to put all her effort into translating it, else Nii will suffer the consequences. She was almost done with the transcriptions, and soon Tet will be in their grasp.

Shiro smiled. Making the world a game was probably a bad idea for Tet if he wanted to bring Blank to that world. She would ensure she and Nii gave him the soundest defeat in his life. Unless she was overlooking something, Blank's victory was absolute, and she doubted anything had been missed.

Shiro was awaiting the future games.

* * *

She forgot.

How could she have forgotten?

Tet was the one true god. That meant he can change the pledges anyway he wanted.

He removed the first pledge directly before the last Race Piece was won by Blank: **All murder, war and robbery was forbidden in this world.**

What that meant was the harbored resentment held by the Exceed with their Race Pieces taken came back in full force. A brutal civil war erupted, with Imanity on the losing side. Almost all forged alliances were torn down. It was as if the Great War had restarted. Chaos erupted from all sides. In order Imanity to survive, they went back to hiding, alongside the Werebeasts who still hold a tentative alliance with them.

Shiro never thought this would happen. Wasn't Tet the one who wanted all this to stop and for the Exceed to use their wits instead of force? Yes, she clearly remembered Tet saying that he wanted them to build a tower of wisdom to reach him. She and Nii always tried to make all parties involved with their race piece being taken receive as many benefits as they could afford the other Exceed to lose. So what changed?

Then, Shiro realized. This was all just a game to Tet. He didn't care about whether or not people were coexisting, or if peace was achieved, or even if he was taken down. He just wanted a game he could enjoy. She suddenly remembered him instigating the game between them and the Old Deus, which her memory was wiped clean of. He most definitely ensured that some ill will would be felt by all the defeated Exceed. She realized Tet was preparing this bloodbath of a battle as a final game. Tet wasn't a peaceful god, he might be the most noxious terrible god of them all.

She came up with a possible plan. Since he still is the god of games, she could still challenge him for the title of one true god if she could locate the last Race Piece she had never touched. Touching them all seemed to be all that was necessary for that particular right, if she did not translate the Elementals' texts incorrectly. However, that might be more difficult than it might seem. The Elementals were constantly engaged in battle with the Lunamana, and there was no simple way to receive their Race Piece yet.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from above the shelter they were hiding. The roof was ripped apart, and the bloodied face of an Ex-Machina appeared above them. Killing intent was obvious. They were not getting away from this battle unscathed. Shiro clung onto Nii's arm tightly, and tried to find the best escape route or means of survival. Yet, there was no clear-cut way she could find.

Nii suddenly ripped her of his arm and threw her to Ino, the werebeast. Startled, she tried to turn around midair. She saw Nii's determined faceright before she fell into Ino's arms. "Ino," he said, "Promise me you will take care of Shiro."

"…Nii…what…?'

"Of course, Sora," said the werebeast determinedly.

"Good…" Sora smiled.

"Shiro, try to stop Tet's game. I believe in you."

Shiro's eyes widened when she realized what Sora was going to do. "…Nii…don't…!"

Ino covered her eyes and took off. She could hear Nii jumping straight at the Ex-Machina, trying to buy as much time for their safety as possible. She screamed and kicked, but it was to no avail. Ino was not going to break his promise, and no one would be able to save Nii at this rate. Her heart broke when she heard his tortured screams as he was killed by the Ex-Machina.

She went limp. Tears leaked from her eyes as she realized this was most likely Tet's goal from the very beginning, to assure his victory if he was challenged. Shiro promised, with her bleeding heart, that she was going to take down Tet with everything she's got in order to avenge Nii. Yet, nothing could be done. Nii's dead, all due to Tet's idea of a game win-condition.

Shiro hated games.


End file.
